HERMENEUTICS OF PENTECOSTAL PREACHING

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CHAPTER 2 HISTORY AND THEOLOGY OF PENTECOSTALISM

The purpose of this chapter is to study the history and theology of Pentecostalism without much theological analysis.
Four areas will be explored: a) the people and theologies that influenced the movement, b) the origins of the Pentecostal movement, c) the leading personalities of the movement, d) the theology of Classical Pentecostalism.

History of the Pentecostal movement

underclass Pentecostalism developed from two groups of people: poor African-Americans and poor Whites.

African-Americans were not allowed to take part in White services

Having been forcibly removed from Africa as slaves, they were strangers in a foreign land, subjected to a new culture and oppressive way of life. Most of the slave owners were practicing Christians but used the Bible to justify their behavior.
Some Christians felt it was their duty to convert their ‘heathen’ slaves. The slave masters saw themselves as Lords over slaves’ lives and viewed their dependents as potential Christians. Many African Americans became Christians as time passed. They worshiped at the same churches as their slave-masters but were not allowed to sit with the Whites in church. They had separate seating arrangements and were not allowed to participate in the services.
To put it mildly, African Americans felt unwelcome in White churches because they came from an oral tradition that was considered ineffective by White Americans. The mainstream White churches wanted them to worship in the European tradition. 4 African-Americans were poor and felt uncomfortable worshiping in White middle-class churches. 5 To compound the problem, the two groups could not mix socially due to the obvious restrictions of the slave-holding system.
African-Americans who became Christians had a great desire to worship God in a manner that reflected their own culture, 6 a manner that incorporated both Biblical and African oral elements. While they learned the Scriptures they desired to experience apostolic Christianity.
Some Whites felt superior to the African Americans. African-Americans felt displaced, angry, frustrated and hopeless. Arthur Brazier, an African-American Pentecostal evangelist from Chicago, summarized this feeling of White superiority by saying, « America was built on the backs of African-Americans ». 7

Poor Whites felt misplaced in White middle-class churches

During the 18th and 19th centuries many new and very poor immigrants came to America, specially from Europe. Most poor Whites also felt out of place in White middle-class churches. The crowds that came to Azusa Street (the church in Los Angeles where Pentecostalism was born) reflected these sentiments of alienation from the mainstream churches.
They were ordinary and needy Robert Mapes 7 « America, he says, was built on the backs of the blacks. The blacks planted the cotton. But they walked around in rags. The blacks built the railways but were not allowed to ride on them. A black doctor discovered blood plasma. But he died because nobody was ready to give him a blood transfusion.n Walter J. Hollenweger, Pentecostal between Black and White, 13, 14.
Anderson’s analysis has shown that Pentecostalism among poor Whites was prompted by the social alienation of poor and working class Americans. 9

Contributors to the birth of Pentecostalism

Pentecostalism grew out of Methodism
Methodism was a second element that influenced the development of Pentecostalism.
After the publication of John Wesley’s tract on Christian perfection and Methodism11 people in the United States of America enthusiastically embraced his teachings. His ideas grew in popularity, especially among the Holiness groups.
Wesley believed, that to be baptized in the Holy Spirit is different from sanctification. This idea gave birth to the Pentecostal movement. But he never taught sinless perfection. 12
Wesley introduced Arminianism in America after the reign of reformed theology. 13 The difference between Calvinism and Arminianism is that the former believes people cannot lose their salvation while the latter believes that people can lose their salvation after they have given their lives to Christ.
Wesley taught that a person was created in sin and has a free choice to accept or reject Christ. If one accepted Christ he was partly cleansed and needed to be sanctified. Wesley understood that sin remained after regeneration but the regenerated person was not a slave to sin. He taught that the cleansing or sanctification after regeneration could be a gradual or instantaneous change. 14

Other influences had an effect on Pentecostalism

 Holiness movements originating from Methodism
1. Perfectionist theology:
Methodism was associated with Holiness teachings when it began. Later on however, established Methodists disassociated themselves from Perfectionist Wesleyanism because they felt it was extreme and had the potential to split their churches. As a result, Holiness teachings continued outside the Methodist church in the Holiness camp.
Holiness Pentecostals teach that perfection is a second work of grace. Bishop Ithiel C. Clemmons theologizes:
Those who believe in a special action of the Holy Spirit within an individual, either against the tendency to sin or, (in some circles not so common among Black holiness-Pentecostal churches), it might be thought to ensure actual perfection so that one will never sin again.
While all sanctified people are perfectionist in their aim, only the latter sorts are theologically called perfectionalists in a strict sense. In practice, an experience of sanctification usually signified a spiritually-aided capacity to be committed to the ideal of a sinless life, often exhibited by radical conformity to implicit rules against behavior perceived by the group as worldly or sinfu1• 15
2. The National Holiness Association:
The National Holiness Association filled the gap created by Methodists who rejected Perfectionist theology and became associated with groups that were more closely related to Holiness teaching as seen through the eyes of Wesley.
Methodists who agreed with Christian Perfection and Christians from other Holiness groups formed a loose organization called the National Holiness Association. As Elaine Lawless notes, they continued to proclaim the theology of John Wesley since « the Holiness movement adhered more closely to the basic tenets of Methodism than did Methodism itself  freedom for African-Americans to express themselves. 17 Whites, too, experienced similar expressions, such as « godly hysteria … falling, jerking, barking like dogs, falling into trance, holy laughter and wild dances. » 18 A very significant thing happened at the camps in terms of race relations: it was the first time in American history that African- Americans and Whites worshiped together. 19

Fire-Baptized way

Another theological position that influenced Pentecostalism was the Fire-Baptized way. ‘ 0 The Fire-Baptized way taught that the baptism of the Holy Ghost was subsequent to sanctification but did not teach that speaking with tongues was the initial evidence of receiving the baptism with the Holy Spirit. 21 Most Pentecostals went further in this line of thinking in teaching that speaking with tongues was a sign accompanied by the baptism of the Holy Spirit. 22

Healing

In the holiness movement, Dr. John Dowie and Charles Cullis notably influenced23 Pentecostalism by emphasizing the healing of the body through prayer. 24
Dowie was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and started his ministry in Australia. From Australia he immigrated to the United States where he continued to teach that healing was provided for in the atonement. In the 1890s large crowds attended his meetings and many people received healing. 25 Synan says, « He did more to promote the doctrine of divine healing than any other man. » 26 At the time of its writing, Synan’s statement reflects the resources available to him.

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Statement of purpose
1.2 Methodology
1.2.1 Limitations
CHAPTER 2 HISTORY AND THEOLOGY OF PENTECOSTALISM
2.1 History of the Pentecostal movement
2.1.1 Pentecostalism was developed mainly by the underclass
2.1.2 Contributors to the birth of Pentecostalism
2.2 The Theology of Pentecostal Preaching/ 52
Chapter 3 HERMENEUTICS OF PENTECOSTAL PREACHING
3.1 Important questions
3.3.1 What is a holistic approach to Scripture?
3.4 Pentecostal hermeneutics~
3.5 Examples of a Pentecostal hermene~
3.6 The gifts of the Spirit and preaching
CHAPTER 4  PENTECOSTAL PREACHING
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Survey characteristics
4.3 Responses to the survey’s objective, research, and questions
4.4 Conclusion
CHAPTER 5 REVIEW OF HOMILETICAL LITERATURE: PABJ: ONE
5.1 Pentecostal preaching in the first 10 years
5.2 Analysis of Written Sermons from 1919-1997
CHAPTER 6 REVIEW OF HOMILETICAL LITERATURE: PART,<TWO
6.1 The charact~f the
6.2 Sermon preparation
6.3 Fundamental characteristics of Pentecostal preaching255
6. 4 Lectureship on Pentecostal preaching V,
6.5 Delivery of Pentecostal sermons~-
CHAPTER 7 REVIEW OF PENTECOSTAL HOMILETICAL DISSERTATIONS
7.1 Formulation of a Classical homiletic
7.2 Ethics and homiletics
CHAPTER 8 SURVEY OF .QRAI rum_ VIDEO SERMONS
8.1 Survey of oral and video sermons
8.2 Analysis of audio and video sermons
CHAPTER 9 QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF SERMONS OF TWO PREACHERS
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Survey characteristics
9.3. The results of the survey
Conclusion
CHAPTER 10 A HOMILETICAL THEORY OF PENTECOSTAL PREACHING
10.1 Homiletical hermeneutics
10.2 Homiletical communication
10.3 Pentecostal preaching is a means God uses to bring people to salvation
CHAPTER 11  THEOLOGICAL -THEORETICAL EVALUATION  OF PENTECOSTAL PREACHING
11.1 The history and theology of Pentecostal preaching
11.2 The hermeneutics of Pentecostal preaching
11.3 African-American and White preaching
11.4 A comparison of male and female preaching
11.5 A homiletical theory of Pentecostal preaching
11.6 A communication theory of Pentecostal preaching
11.7 The strength and weakness of Pentecostal preaching
CHAPTER 12 CONCLUSION
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